|
|
Post by HeadMarshal on Oct 23, 2018 17:18:26 GMT -5
An interesting what if scenario, how well would an AMW-type show have done if it had premiered one decade earlier in the late 1970s?
FOX Broadcasting Company was founded in 1986, so one of the other big three networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) would have had the honour of putting it on the air.
What would have been the chances that longtime 1970s AMW fugitives like John William McGrath, Joseph Dudley Ashley, Carl Eder and ESPECIALLY William Bradford Bishop could have been caught early on in this example. Adding onto this, maybe some of our 1970s forum exclusive fugitives like Harry Reese, Jose Luis Huitron and Calvin Fulmer could have been caught early on as well.
The FBI would have still been a major source of cases. Not sure about the US Marshals since their 15 Most Wanted and Major Case lists started in the 1980s.
|
|
|
|
Post by Scumhunter on Oct 23, 2018 17:26:27 GMT -5
Believe it or not, there actually was a similar program (even before UK's Crimewatch) called "Wanted" that aired on CBS in 1955-1956.
It is an interesting question, but, it's not like the 70's were entirely a happy-go-lucky time, but crime in America sort of became even more of an epidemic in the 1980's which lead to AMW in the first place. Also, the advent of Fox which was a new network and it's unique and groundbreaking programming at the time also helped.
AMW could have a capture number in the 2000's had it started in the 70's, but the 80's were the perfect storm for this important show (and still important even if now a memory) to happen.
|
|
|
|
Post by 912thamwuser on Oct 23, 2018 18:09:12 GMT -5
Believe it or not, there actually was a similar program (even before UK's Crimewatch) called "Wanted" that aired on CBS in 1955-1956. It is an interesting question, but, it's not like the 70's were entirely a happy-go-lucky time, but crime in America sort of became even more of an epidemic in the 1980's which lead to AMW in the first place. Also, the advent of Fox which was a new network and it's unique and groundbreaking programming at the time also helped. AMW could have a capture number in the 2000's had it started in the 70's, but the 80's were the perfect storm for this important show (and still important even if now a memory) to happen. I don't know enough about the national, local, social, or political climate of the decades before I look like I was born, so I don't understand why crime was a bigger problem in 198X and before. One of you would have to give me a background description on this. |
|
|
|
Post by Scumhunter on Oct 23, 2018 18:24:25 GMT -5
With all due respect, I was simply responding to HeadMarshal's post and wasn't expecting to be asked to write an essay expanding on one part of a response.  It's just common knowledge that the U.S. really did seem like utopian suburbia at one point in time, especially in the 50's but after the Kennedy assassination, Vietnam, social unrest etc... the isht hit the fan and we became more and more violent. The 70's was getting there but the 80's was the time of the crack epidemic (and start of war on drugs)- see what happened with Miami in the 80's, AIDS epidemic, murder rates went up across the country especially in big cities etc... Also unfortunately Adam Walsh of course put child murders in the spotlight... it was a very violent decade. I hope that was enough to satisfy you, since I'm kind of too lazy to expand further. |
|
|
|
Post by тσρтєиhυитєя on Oct 24, 2018 0:19:20 GMT -5
Well if AMW were to have aired in the late 70s like say 1976-1979, first of all, the host would have been the parent of a very famous missing child case or child murder victim from that decade. John Walsh could have co-starred sometime after 1981 and then taken over from then on.
Like perhaps the parents of the Lyon Sisters, Etan Patz’ parents, or one of the loved ones of the Fort Worth Trio from 1974.
Also think about all the missing persons cases that could’ve been solved during that decade had AMW started in the late 70s.
Also the obvious point, Brad Bishop, William Jordan, Carl Eder, and the likes of all those other 70s era cases would likely have been captured before the decade was over or even as late as the late 1980s or early 1990s.
After listening to a lot of criminally listed videos, I think AMW would have been a necessity in the 70s too since a lot of cases occurred during that decade, but for some reason Etan Patz’ disappearance and Adam Walsh’s Murder set the stage for a more alert public and AMW, which makes me wonder why it wasn’t addressed earlier?
But I realize that the case of Adam Walsh was just too gruesome and heartbreaking, and something had to be done during the most violent decade in America.
|
|
|
|
Post by Scumhunter on Oct 24, 2018 4:48:00 GMT -5
Actually, imo the host might not have necessarily been a victim's advocate. John Walsh was one of several candidates to host AMW and most were actors or law enforcement figures. (There was one actress who was raped, but she was still an actress). The network wanted him because of the authenticity they felt he would bring, and advanced missing child and victim advocacy basically started because of him. That advanced victim advocacy wouldn't have been there in the 70's for the networks to want to feel the need for an authentic host who was actually a crime victim. (Also, John Walsh has stated if he could go back and time and have Adam back he would despite his career as AMW host- but unfortunately we can't make that happen).
The host imo probably would have been an actor- it was the 70's, so probably some good looking white male actor, for better or worse.
That's not to say they would have been bad as Robert Stack obviously did a great job hosting Unsolved Mysteries.
The 70's had violence as well and as far as them and crime it will probably be more well known for the start of a trend of well-known serial killers (Son of Sam, Ear/ONS, BTK), not serial killers but the Manson family sort of stands out as well etc...
|
|
|
|
Post by severin on Nov 1, 2018 12:33:50 GMT -5
Actually, imo the host might not have necessarily been a victim's advocate. John Walsh was one of several candidates to host AMW and most were actors or law enforcement figures. (There was one actress who was raped, but she was still an actress). The network wanted him because of the authenticity they felt he would bring, and advanced missing child and victim advocacy basically started because of him. That advanced victim advocacy wouldn't have been there in the 70's for the networks to want to feel the need for an authentic host who was actually a crime victim. (Also, John Walsh has stated if he could go back and time and have Adam back he would despite his career as AMW host- but unfortunately we can't make that happen). In his 1997 book Tears of Rage, John Walsh mentioned that some actors were considered for the hosting job. One of them was actress Theresa Saldana, who was stabbed and almost killed by a crazed fan in 1982, and who played herself in the 1984 TV-movie Victims for Victims: The Theresa Saldana Story. According to Walsh, other actors considered for the job were: Brian Keith (Uncle Bill on A Family Affair and Judge Milton Hardcastle on Hardcastle and McCormick), Brian Dennehy, and Ed Marinaro (of Hill Street Blues fame). Theresa Saldana was a credible choice, but if she had done AMW, she would never have done The Commish. In retrospect, given the nature of AMW, Fox was wise to go with someone who was not in show business. Had an actor/actress been hired to host AMW, he/she would have had to basically sacrifice his/her acting career, since production continued even through summer. That's a contrast to Unsolved Mysteries, which, like scripted comedies and dramas for example, went on summer hiatus, giving host Robert Stack enough time to pursue and fulfill acting jobs.
|
|
|
|
Post by Scumhunter on Nov 1, 2018 17:56:35 GMT -5
Oh I knew all that already, I accidentally thought Saldana was raped as well, but she went through enough of an ordeal as it was. I was simply explaining to toptenhunter victim's advocacy probably wouldn't have been as big a factor in choosing a host in the 70's unlike the 80's. |
|
